Kodi Metropolis Skin review: retro-modern look for your HTPC

Most skins for Kodi take on a specific theme and develop it, doing quite a nice job at that, too. You can see this trend if you browse our previous lists for the 6 best Kodi skins or the 10 best Kodi skins for touchscreens. However, there are exceptions to this rule: some skins develop two or more themes that you can switch to and from, without changing skin; while others just develop a hybrid theme, for example, being modern and retro at the same time. In this last group, we find the Kodi Metropolis skin, one of the nicest looking skins for Kodi, that we will be reviewing today. [Read:Kodi Nebula Skin review: light and dark skin for your HTPC]

Even the settings menu looks amazing with the Kodi Metropolis skin.

When I started writing this Kodi Metropolis Skin review, I instantly had my eye caught with the nice icon aesthetics that I was able to see in the settings screen. Vertical icons, looking as if they were brought out of a pop-art gallery greeted me, and a smooth transition as I moved the mouse was the first sign of a well-performing skin that held many surprises. I guess this skin would go very well with a wireless HTPC keyboard, or even a remote such as the Lynec C120.

Kodi Metropolis Skin review: a different main menu

Another surprise I got when writing this Kodi Metropolis skin review was the fact that the main menu is split in two, in an elegant, yet sort of uncomfortable way if you’re using a mouse as a primary peripheral; however, if you’re using a keyboard it is actually innovative and comfortable: on the left you have the equivalent of the main ribbon in skins like Confluence and Aeon Nox, but vertically oriented, and on the right, you would have the equivalent of submenus, if the menu item you’re browsing has them. [Read:Kodi Aeon Nox Skin Review: a modern look for your HTPC]

The menus and submenus are split in the main screen of Metropolis, in a way that’s comfortable to browse with keyboards.

Menus in the Kodi Metropolis skin have few visualizations, but there’s one that looks really neat: the Low List visualization combines an appropriate image and icons with the ease of browsing that the List visualization offers. Other menus offer the Gallery Square visualization, such as the menus inside Genesis Kodi addon. When it comes to media, visualizations increase exponentially, with most of them focused on presenting a wealth of information to the viewer in a beautiful way. You can check out some of those visualizations below, and see if there’s any that you might like for your HTPC.

The Gallery Square visualization is ideal to browse some menus, such as the one in the Genesis Kodi addon. Notice the visually appealing “busy” indicator.

The poster fixed visualization lets you see cover art, a fanart background and movie information on screen.

The fanart visualization lets you see a fanart background and foreground -the latter one with an innovative split- and also movie information.

The Landscape visualization leaves quite a substantial area of the screen free from foreground elements, making it look easier on the eyes and elegant.

Coverflow is a 3D visualization that allows you to browse your movies in an amazingly-looking way.

The List Fanart visualization splits your screen in several areas including a list, fanart, and movie information.

Kodi Metropolis Skin: do you recommend it?

The playback on Metropolis skin looks neat and detailed; however, the seeking bar doesn’t work.

The fact that there’s Kodi skins and background plugin such as the Kodi Metropolis skin, focused not only on delivering excellent visuals, but also a great wealth of information at a glance, is very rewarding and also ideal for people who want to see things like what studios produced the movie, or what rating has it gotten from its viewers. The Kodi Metropolis skin also boasts touch support, in case you have your Kodi install in a tablet or touchscreen device. Because of the features and great wealth of visualizations it packs, and because it is completely free to use, I actually would like to encourage you to try it out. Who knows? Perhaps you get a new favorite interface after you install it!

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